Letter: Trump outflanked on ‘the wall’

President Trump brags that nobody is a better deal maker than him. If deal-making means you have all of the leverage and bludgeon your opponent into submission, then yes, Trump is a supreme deal maker. But Nancy Pelosi, as Speaker of the House, has leverage as well. She can “trump” Trump and he will soon realize that he will have to declare a national emergency, or fold.

To influence a 17-member, bipartisan border security committee, Trump keeps promising, “No Wall, no deal.” I anticipate that he will have to eat those words. Although Pelosi has promised not one dollar for a wall, she has also said she will support whatever is proposed by the committee. So the stage is set for a showdown, which I believe Pelosi will win.

In this Jan. 25, 2017, file photo, a Border Patrol agent observes from the Mexican side of the Mexico-U.S. border fence separating the towns of Anapra, Mexico and Sunland Park, N.M.(Photo11: Associated Press)

You may ask, why not a wall? The Mexican drug smuggler, El Chapo, allegedly has a series of air- conditioned tunnels he uses to bring drugs into the US. Clearly a wall will not stop this flow of illegal drugs. If Trump builds a 30-foot wall, at Home Depot you can purchase a 31-foot ladder to climb over. In other words, a wall is not the answer. Increased border personnel, drones, sensors, more immigration judges, etc. will be more effective.

My guess is that Pelosi will go along with whatever is necessary to secure the border, including barriers where required. She will also signal that she will authorize funding far above the $5.7 billion Trump is demanding. In other words, Pelosi will support a better remedy with more funding than requested. Trump will be outmaneuvered and then have to fret over what Ann Coulter will say.